Re: Ingham County Animal Control Pound Release
Date: March 8, 2002
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Contact Info: Allie Phillips AkaMcAllie@msn.com 517-281-3009 Mary Dresbach marydresbach@hotmail.com 810-392-7028 |
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On January 2, 2002 a citizen of Ingham County found a puppy and brought the
puppy to the Ingham County Animal Care Center. (Picture above). At that
time the citizen, Venny Fernandez, signed the shelter's paperwork stating
that he did not authorize the puppy to be sold to a Class B Research Dealer,
and that if the puppy was not claimed by his owner, Fernandez wished to
adopt the puppy. Fernandez was told the puppy was available for adoption on
January 9th. Fernandez called the shelter to find out about adopting the
puppy and was told the puppy was euthanized. This was untrue, the puppy was
alive.
For approximately one month, the puppy lived at the shelter, his card marked
unavailable for adoption unless adopted to the finder. Then on February 7,
2002 the puppy was sold to Class B Dealer James Woudenberg of R & R
Research. The Director of Animal Control claims the puppy was killed in an
experiment.
These facts were released to the public on March 7th by Channel 10 of
Lansing. Immediately prior to the scheduled airing of the TV. news story,
Roger Fleming, Animal Care Center Director contacted a FICAS board member
(Friends of Ingham County Animal Shelter) (a non-profit organization) and
demanded the FICAS board request the resignation of Allie Phillips.
Phillips is the FICAS board member who uncovered the facts and contacted the
press. Fleming also informed FICAS that they would no longer be allowed to
provide care to animals at the shelter, that they must wait in lines, they
would not be allowed access to the office and animals would not be held past
their date of availability.
Pound release is the practice of selling shelter animals to Class B
Dealers. B Dealers are licensed by the USDA to resell shelter and random
source animals to institutions and corporations that perform experiments on
these animals. The National Association of Animal Control Officers is
against this practice because it causes the public to loose confidence in
the animal shelter. Pound release shelters are no longer safe havens for
stray and homeless animals, but instead these shelters are essentially a
shopping mall for the research industry.
Ingham County failed its citizens when the Board of Commissioners voted to
allow the research industry shopping privileges at its shelter. A for
profit corporation is taking pets and reselling them for a huge profit.
This is not
what an animal shelter is supposed to be. Now, citizens are lied to, their
wishes ignored, so the Class B Dealer make more money and a non-profit
organization is being threatened. What's wrong with the Ingham County
Animal Care Center?